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Sunday, May 5, 2013

Guest Post: 30 Days of Biking

It
is such a pleasure to present this guest post by Kayla, another cargo bicycling mama and CT blogger. I met Kayla last fall when she bravely loaded her Madsen cargo bike and a couple of single bikes into her minivan and drove into New Haven for a Kidical Mass ride. I was most impressed to learn that she is a mama of five and was really taking on family bicycling. Her older girls and my fellas instantly bonded and I really look forward to the opportunity to riding together again.

It was fun to follow Kayla's 30 Days of Biking challenge in April and Kayla kindly agreed to let me share her blog post about it here. Thanks so much!

I am a big blog reader. I love finding people that are interested in the things that I enjoy. While on my search for ways to get my family biking(read here, and here, and here). I ran across a treasure trove of biking family blogs. I was amazed at their set ups, how they got their kids to love being out and about, and most amazingly, how most of them chose to slow down their lives just a little to fit in bikes for nearly all their needs.

As I was reading these families stories, I kept hearing mention of April's 30 days of biking and how once one participated in such a challenge it was common for the "biking bug" to take over that leaves you constantly looking for ways to use your bike in the regular everyday rather than just biking for weekend recreation.

After owning my big bike for nearly a year, I was ready to see what I could really "DO" on these two wheels, and so I committed to 30 days of biking. I used that nifty Instagram to keep track. Here are our days. See if you can see the ways we were changed.

*You'll notice that I didn't include Sundays. In our family we value our Sabbath. We try to keep them holy. We attend our church meetings and spend the rest of the day together, usually at home. We try to fill the day with acts that remind us of our Savior and Creator. To read more about our Sabbath Day Observance and other commandments we value visit http://mormon.org/commandments.

1/30: Preschool pickup. 3 kiddos. 4 miles.2/30: Chilly morning so just quick errand. Trying out Dad's setup for two kiddos, one behind and one in front. 2.4 miles.3/30: Hat, scarf, gloves, coat, and a pout. Is April getting colder each day? Preschool pickup and milk run. 3 kiddos, 2 gallons of milk, and a box of donuts to chase the frown away. 4 miles 4/30: Digging our toes in the sand by the lake on a perfect spring day. 3 kiddos. 5.6 miles.Thanks for getting me out of the house #30daysofbiking !!This was the highlight of the week. Never before had I spent a quiet morning at the lake with my kids so early in the spring. I had never really thought of it. Lakes are for swimming and sand is for summer. But because it is nearby by bike and we were looking for something new to do, we made a great morning.5/30: Downgraded to sweatshirts today. Getting warmer. Preschool pickup. 3 kiddos. 4 miles.6/30:After a busy Saturday, it's nice to get in a relaxing bike ride:) 1 mom on a kiddo bike down the driveway hill. 0.01miles.Surprisingly to me, Saturdays were the hardest days to make sure riding happened. Too, too busy.

8/30: Visiting the trains before preschool pickup. 3 kiddos. 4 miles. 9/30: Perfect afternoon for softball practice. 2 lone riders and 1 babe in the bucket. Only time in the whole month I only had one kid in the bucket. Every other trip was 2 or 3.10/30: The hardest part about biking to school? Not the sweat, not the tired legs, not the grumpy kids, not the crazy drivers, it's that I have to be ready to leave my house 10 minutes early. It's nearly impossible but totally worth it:). Preschool AM drop off. 3 kiddos. 4 miles.11/30: Going to the grocery store with three little kids on a bike is still going to the grocery store with three little kids. ;) 3 kiddos. 2 miles.12/30: That is my brand-new-came-in-the-mail-today front hub electrical assist. After being snubbed out of every "pedaling" bike shop nearby for even inquiring about them, we ordered it online through Clean Republic and my hubs and I installed it this evening. So excited to be able to bike out of this 4 mile bowl I live in with my kiddos.Per Totcycle's review and Hum of the City's Rundown I ordered the Clean Republic Hill Topper Kit13/30 Big plans for these guys. 1 minivan can swallow a Madsen, mountain bike, hybrid, and trail-a-bike.Spring break time with an 8 hour ride from CT to VA. 2 cars. 1 full of kiddos and the other with bikes.

15/30: Today was spent at the National Arboretum. Lovely paths throughout the entire park. What a way to see spring! 10miles. 16/30:Silly in front of the Capitol Building. 12 miles. My favorite part of the day: when we pulled up to get a good view of the White House and all the Asian tourist turned around and started taking our pictures. 7 people on 3 bikes with 2 cranky little boys can create a lot of curiosity. 17/30:I rode a peacock and Gracie a seahorse on our last day of vacation at the National Zoo. No biking, but we did sit in a saddle. You can read all about our DC spring Break here.18/30:Trying the "easier" hill today. 2 kiddos. 3.7miles. 19/30:I/we made it up the BIG hill today! And I can still walk! A big thank you to my little electric assist. It helped a ton, but it was still SO hard. Preschool pickup. 3 kiddos. 6 miles. 20/30:This is how we nap on Mom's slow upward ascent towards home after big sisters' softball game. 3 kiddos. 2 miles.

22/30: Dropping off a forgotten flute to my forgetful middle schooler was today's bike errand, that I used to do by car. 3 kiddos. 3 miles. 23/30:Stopping to call to the alpacas on a neighborhood ride. 2 kiddos. 2 Strider bikes. 2 miles. 24/30:We did the preschool drop off and then swung by my husband's warehouse to pick up a lollipop and my stolen rake. 3 kiddos. 1 red rake. 7 miles. 25/30: Out with the old, rusty, sad, but serviceable front basket. I've got a new shinny rack. Now to find the proper bolts to put it on. Confession; I did not ride today. Gasp! I didn't need to go anywhere. I did cleaning and laundry and leaf raking and toddler playing. 26/30: Couldn't miss another day to ride, but without my new rack installed I had to bungee my battery to my frame so we could do the preschool run and still make it back up our hill assisted. 3 kiddos. 6 miles. 27/30: Another missed Saturday :(

29/30: Hubs caught me stopping for treats this morning. I always make those DD people giggle when we do the drive through. Then we followed him to his warehouse to help him load up for the day. Big day for us. Home,preschool, warehouse, preschool, home. 12 miles. 30/30: How 'bout that rack? Off to ride our last five miles to get to 100 biked miles in April. Later: Made it to the pond to dig in the sand, throw rocks in the water, and lie in the grass until my legs aren't jelly anymore. Thankfully the way back will be easier. 2 kiddos. 7 miles for a grand total of 102 biked April miles.

Stats:

Miles biked = 102

Gas saved = 6 gals

Parking fee saved = $40 in DC for 1 day

Cost of Bike accessories = $917

($800 for the e-assist, $40 for an Iphone holder, $70 for rack, $7 for basket)

:)

Time spent biking/exercising = about 15 hours

Cost of gym + babysitting for 15 hours = $50 + $150 = $200

Weight lost = 0 lbs :)

Increase in dessert intake = Oh yeaH.

Pretty soon all that gym and babysitting I am saving will add up to the cost of that e-assist.

Changes/Lessons learned:

I now keep my garage door clicker in my purse rather than my van visor.

I was amazed beyond amazed that it never rained on us. We've had a super dry April; bad for the yard, great for biking.

I have never been outside this much in April. With my big family, there are always, always chores to be done. I send my kiddos outside everyday to play in the backyard, but sometimes I don't make it out there myself. It sure is a shame that I let things like laundry and dishes keep me from enjoying spring properly.

My house work has suffered a bit. I started a huge project of organizing the boys clothes that has sat taking up half the basement playroom for the entire month, but whose to say that the bike is to blame. I am most likely subconciously avoiding it.

I have spoken to more of my townspeople than ever before. No one can help but smile when they see three kids in the back of a bike. I've recomended the bike shop in New Haven, Devils' Gear Bike Shop, that origionally sold my bike to it's previous owner. They don't carry Madsen's anymore, but they do carry other long-tailed, cargo carring bikes like the Yuba Mundo and Boda, Boda.

I have learned that not all bike shops are equal, and hardly any of them know anything about biking with kiddos. A big thank you to those bike blogs. Without them I would be lost and frustrated.

I have learned that location is nice(we loved our trip to DC), but not a determining factor in finding places to ride. We live at the top of an incredibly(to me) steep hill. Biking up it with my load was impossible and my biking world was a wee bit small because of all the hills I couldn't make it up, so I shopped around for help and found an electrical-assist. Now we can climb our hill and get to so many other places.

I learned that I really, really enjoy biking my daughter to preschool. It is a perfect outing. It is a short ride but it makes our day so much more exciting. No more shoving sleepy pj-clad children into carseats as my preschooler crumbles her breakfast toast all over the back seat. We get up, eat, dress, and get ready for the day-pjs do not cut it on the bike when it's 50 degrees outside, because it feels a bit like 35 and if we want to eat breakfast in the bike, no worries, the cumbs fall by the roadway.

I have learned that I can do hard things. Biking is a bit hard sometimes, physically, but that was probably the easiest challenge to overcome. The hardest part was getting out of my comfort zone and leaving our daily routine. I am carting around three young kids whereever I go. They all have fall birthdays so they are halvsies right now at 4 1/2, 3 1/2, and 18 months. Going anywhere with them is a challenge no matter how we get there. It takes planning and snacks and super duper timing to get everyone on board with an outing. Having this biking challenge got us out of our tiny home each day and I learned that my kids can actually handle more than I give them credit. I used to be afraid to leave my house after 11 in the morning because it was too near out 12:30 naptime and my boys would fall asleep in the car, be super grumpy when we arrived at our destination, and not take an afternoon nap when we returned home later. That is not really an issue with the bike. If I keep them well fed and hydrated, they can last much longer on our bike errands than ever in the car. They are out experiences the world a little bit closer and moving at a much slower rate. They get to "see" so much more. I love to hear my little one pip up with "train" every time we see any vehicle pulling a trailer of any sort.

2 comments:

I was inspired to stop by your blog today. A desire to see what you all have been upto, and here I find some of the best of the Full Hands family! A great guest post (truly fabulous!), your four year anniversary post, the what your days look like post, a super cute wookie, and on and on. So great to "catch up" on your lives, and read about others (Kayla). I need to update my Reader to something and find our way back to friends and family soon. Been quite a year. Happy to have you all be a part of it. Thank you.

Hooray! This is our old Madsen bucket bike! We got a lot of great use for it -- lots of rides out to our church in Milford -- and are so glad to see it in such joyful and loving use! We're still cargo biking with our Xtracycle, Tandems, and Burley Piccolo. Bless your family, and thanks for sharing.